Fade To Blue
by Abilene Keegan
Summary: Can anybody really have a happy ending? Carter/Abby; Luka/Abby.
1. Part I

TITLE A:hover {color #000000; pont-family: Verdana} 

****TITLE: Fade To Blue - Part I

****AUTHOR: Abilene Keegan

****EMAIL: [Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com][1]

****RATING: PG

****SYNOPSIS: Luka confronts Abby with his feeling about

their relationship or lack-thereof. Luka/Abby.

****DISCLAIMER: The following is a story of fiction based

on characters created and owned by Michael Crichton

and NBC.

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**P A R T I**

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I think I know how the story's going to end 

It's getting to the part where heartache closes in 

The stage is set and it's time for me to leave 

Cause I don't want to see the final scene 

Fade to blue 

We didn't make it through 

Let the hurt unfold

And fade to blue

-Unknown, _Fade To Blue_

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Luka walked very silently into the lounge as to not alert the woman already in there. Quietly he walked up behind her. She was standing in front of the coffee pot just staring down at it, oblivious to his presence in the room. Remembering an old American tradition he lifted both his arms up and, reaching out in front of her, gently covered her eyes with his hands.

"Guess who?" He smiled down at the back of her head. He could feel a smile forming on her face as well.

"Ummm... Judging by the accent I'd have to say that tall, dark, and most hansom Euro doctor we have working here in the ER." Luka removed his hands and she turned around to face him.

"Close enough." He stated smiling down at her, then a thought occurred to him. "Euro doctor? You've been talking with your mother haven't you?"

"Guilty as charged." He nodded his head knowing that this was the reason she'd been so absent minded today. Still, even this confused him. Although Maggie was far from being Abby's favorite person, he'd thought they'd cleared things up.

"How's she doing? She still on her meds?" As he asked the question he could already see the barriers around Abby going up. And so it begins, he thought to himself.

Over the past few months, ever since his encounters with the bishop, he'd come to realize that he had been holding onto a family long gone. And so he'd recently been trying very hard to let them go. In fact, he was sure, he'd pretty much succeeded. But in letting go of his past, in letting go of his family, he'd had to look at his present a lot closer. That's when he realized the trouble his relationship with Abby was in. And that's when he realized how much he didn't want to lose her.

With this revelation Luka suddenly started to pay a lot closer attention to their relationship and to Abby herself. He'd become a lot more sensitive to her feelings and now knew most every time something was bothering her. However to his heartbreak, he also knew that every time that happened she seemed to disappear and, mysteriously, so did Carter.

"Um, yeah I guess so. She sounded okay." With that Abby turned around and started to pour herself a cup of coffee. "She's talking about coming for a short visit soon." Luka's attention was at high alert. He needed to keep her open to him. To keep her talking. He was certain that if she'd open up to him about just one problem in her life then she'd come to realize she could talk to him about anything.

"So soon." Truth was, Luka didn't know what to say exactly. He didn't want Maggie visiting. Abby had seemed to be a little happier since her departure to Minnesota and he didn't want Maggie showing up and ruining all that.

"Yeah, I guess." She didn't seem to keen on this idea either, Luka thought as he watcher her take a sip of the coffee she'd just poured.

"And how do you feel about this?" With that said Luka was almost certain he had not only felt the wall go up but had seen it being built brick by brick around Abby. She began walking towards the door.

"I don't know. Fine. Why wouldn't I be fine with my mother visiting me?" She had reached to door. Luka needed to come up with something quick. Something that would stop her.

"Going to find Carter?" Okay that wasn't the something he had in mind. Abby turned around and faced him. Great, he'd started this now how does he end it without getting into a huge fight with her.

"Excuse me?" Then again, maybe a fight is what was needed. If it would bring this issue to light.

"Well, I assume you'd want to talk with him about this. After all you couldn't possibly talk with me about it, now could you?"

"Luka what are you talking about?" Her voice was a mix of anger and astonishment. Had she really never expected him to bring up the issue? Had she figured he hadn't even noticed that every time his girlfriend had a problem she went running off to another man to talk about it. Luka was certain that somewhere in there she was violating the code of being faithful to ones significant other.

"You know what I am talking about Abby." He let it all sink in for a moment and watched her reaction. Problem was her only reaction was no reaction at all. He couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling. Her face was a blank mask.

"I am so sick of it." He continued and suddenly his emotions were coming out into the open to pay greeting to his already emotionally distressed girlfriend. But he didn't care, this had to be said. "I am so sick of you going to him every time you need someone to talk to, as if I weren't even here. Do you not consider how I may feel about that? It is not the proudest thing knowing that my girlfriend won't even talk to me about her problems." Luka's heart almost broke as he watched a tear slip down her cheek. He'd caused that tear. Still he had to continue. This had to be said cause if it didn't end...

"If you're not willing to talk to me Abby, then your not willing or ready to have a relationship with me." Abby was about to say something but he cut her off quickly. He wanted her to think about this before she decided where he truly stood in her life. He knew where she stood in his. And with that he found himself uttering three words he'd never said to her before.

"I love you." He knew those words would only succeed in causing him greater pain if she did decide to leave him. By the stunned expression she gave him though he was glad he had said them, she needed to know. "I want to be with you. But if you can't learn to be with me... emotionally, then there's no chance for us. So please, figure it out so that we both can move on with our lives."

With that said, Luka walked past Abby and out of the room.

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We played the part of lovers

Knew every line by heart

But sometimes love can't erase what is written in the stars

So, before the bitter words come crashing down

Lets see what's left and let the lights go out

And fade to blue

We didn't make it through

Just fade to blue

-Unknown, _Fade To Blue_

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   [1]: mailto:Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com



	2. Part II

TITLE

****TITLE: Fade To Blue - Part II

****AUTHOR: Abilene Keegan

****EMAIL: [Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com][1]

****RATING: PG

****SYNOPSIS: Luka and Abby continue to discuss their

relationship. Luka/Abby.

**SPOILERS: **The Visit.

****DISCLAIMER: The following is a story of fiction based

on characters created and owned by Michael Crichton

and NBC.

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**P A R T I I**

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Almost all happy endings have a way of coming true

But once the feelings start to fade to blue

Let the curtain fall

And fade to blue

-Unknown, _Fade To Blue_

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The darkness was a comfort to Abby. It had always been. Ever since she was a little girl she had taken solace from it. It was like a living, breathing thing to her. Something that would protect her when she needed protecting. When she needed a break from the world it would be there to hide her in it's shadow. It was her best friend, it was her guardian, her comforter, it would always be there even after everybody else had left.

Tonight Abby had once again found herself retreating to her friend darkness for console. She had found him on top of the hospital roof about thirty minutes ago. Two weeks. It had been two weeks since that most intense confrontation she'd had with Luka. He had barley spoken to her since. In fact, aside from the occasional patient together, he hadn't spoken to her at all. She wasn't angry at him for it. She was actually grateful. He was giving her time to think and consider all her options before she made a decision as to how she truly felt about him... and Carter.

She realized that she was standing on a border between Luka and Carter. Both of them had something she needed. And she didn't know what it was. So she just continued to stand there waiting for somebody to tell her what she needed. Nobody had told her and now she had to find out for herself before she lost them both.

With Carter she found consolation in emotions. It was so easy to talk with him. He seemed to know all her emotions. He knew when something was bothering her and never failed to mention it. He always knew what to say to her to make her feel better and he always knew when to shut up and not say a word. He was always there if she needed to talk.

Luka was more a physical consolation. This was through love making but mostly it was the way he held her in his arms every night. She felt safe with him. More safe then she'd ever felt with anybody. She knew that he would always protect her, he had proven that much to her on their first date. Yet he lacked emotion. That's not to say that he wasn't emotional around her or felt nothing for her, cause she knew he was and did, she just couldn't talk to him. She knew why. She had always known why.

The reason she couldn't talk to him had started with something he'd done.

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Abby reached up and slowly knocked on the door. She remembered other nights she'd done this. Gone to the hotel Luka was staying at to see him. Back then there'd been hope. So much future to look forward to. Now there was little hope and probably no future with him. Now there was only the distinct feeling that she was doing this for the last time.

The door before her slowly opened to reveal Luka standing behind it. She noticed he appeared only semi surprised to see her. Probably wondering what had taken her so long. Luka didn't say anything, just stepped out of the way to let her in. Abby walked into the small room. Standing beside the bed, because there was no place else to stand, she waited for Luka to shut the door and join her.

The mere presence of the bed made things feel a little awkward and Abby knew this was probably the worst place for them to talk. Too many things could happen in a nice, privet hotel room. Mentally shaking her head she got rid of such thoughts. They were both adults not hormone enraged teenagers, they could handle this. Luka stepped in front of her and she had to swallow hard. She hoped.

She had missed him. A lot. And to suddenly have him standing here in front of her brought back many feelings and emotions of past times. Times they'd spent together. Times they'd talked about nothing and everything after making love. But the talks were never about anything serious, just the little things that didn't really matter. Still, she had cherished those talks. She had been happy just to be able to tell him anything, no matter how unimportant it might have been. But even then she'd known it wouldn't last. It couldn't last. It was the important things in life that would always catch up with you. And to ignore them the way they did was like playing with an explosive. At some point it would have to go off.

"Abby." Luka began and Abby realized how uncomfortable the silence must have been. Especially for him. He had no idea why she was there. He didn't know if she'd come to break up with him, to try and fix things, or to simply talk. Truth was Abby didn't really know either. She looked up and into his eyes. He didn't say anything more and she knew why. This was her turn. Her turn to talk to him and say what was going on inside her. So she decided to go strait to the origin. It would be better that way for them both.

"I tried to talk to you." Abby's voice was soft and quite. Just enough for him to hear her. "That night when Maggie had first come into the ER." She looked down at her hands and swallowed. Then looked back up at him. "I'd asked if you had a few minutes to talk. You said you did." The memory was still painful for Abby and she found that surprising. She hadn't expected it to be after all this time. "Then a nurse had come over with information on one of your patients. You looked at the information and then you walked away. You didn't say anything. You just left." A tear slipped down Abby's cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"Abby-" She wouldn't let him finish. She wasn't finished.

"It hurt me Luka. It really did. I had needed someone to talk to and I'd gone to you." A few more tears fell. She hated this. She didn't want to feel this way about something that had happened so long ago. Then again it really hadn't been that long ago. And the wound was still fresh. "And you acknowledged me by simply walking away from me. I would've understood. I mean you had a patient to see but you didn't say anything Luka. You just left me standing there without a word. And you never mentioned it again. Never said anything later that day or any other day about the fact that I had needed to talk to you about something but hadn't gotten the chance yet. Then it came to me. You didn't care. You didn't want to hear about my problems."

"Abby that's not true."

"Carter had been there though." Luka quickly stopped any attempt to continue talking. And Abby realized that Luka hadn't know she'd talked to Carter that day. "He'd asked if I wanted to grab some coffee with him. At first I was a little humiliated. I knew that he'd heard our conversation and that he'd watched you just walk away from me. You who was supposed to be my boyfriend." She looked down at her hands again. Her tears were gone. She just felt numb now. She knew now where this was going. Looking back up into Luka's eyes she also knew that he knew.

"He never mentioned it though. Never said anything about it. Didn't try and make me feel belittled by it... even though I did. He just listened as I talked to him about other problems. About my mother. My childhood. He listened and he made me feel like he truly cared." Looking directly into Luka's eyes she spoke the next words. "And I know he did."

She watched Luka take a step back and close his eyes in thought. He was scared and she knew it. She knew he didn't want to lose her, that he loved her. But in this case lover certainly wasn't enough. Especially since she wasn't sure if she felt the same way for him.

"I'm sorry Abby. I'm sorry I did that. I am sorry I acted that way. It... must have been very hurtful, I know. But, god Abby, is that where this all started? I make one mistake like that and there's no longer any real chance for us. No chance at an emotional bond being made."

"Earlier that same day I'd heard through the grape vine that you'd seemed kind of off lately. So I'd asked you if you wanted to have lunch later. I figured maybe we could talk about things. It was so clear you didn't want to have lunch with me. I mean sure, you half agreed but only because you felt you had to, not because you wanted to." Abby shrugged her shoulders and began walking over to a window in the room. "You didn't even want to have lunch with me Luka. I have little doubt of why. You didn't want to talk to me. You didn't want to sure your problems with me." Abby leaned up against the wall and looked out the window.

"I didn't know that's why you wanted to have lunch." Abby rolled her eyes. She couldn't help it. This was all becoming so ridicules as she realized how messed up their relationship really was. Was there even anything that was worth saving?

"It didn't matter Luka. You knew that you were feeling emotionally down and that was something you wouldn't be able to hide from me. So the easiest course of action was to avoid me." Abby watched two people walking hand in hand on the street. "That's what we've been doing ever since. Avoiding each other wherever emotions are involved."

"That's not true Abby. I've tried rather desperately to get you to open up to me."

"But that's not the problem Luka." She saw his questioning gaze and quickly filled in the rest. "You won't come to me when you need someone to talk to. I may try to get you to but you won't. The same goes for me. I won't go to you no matter how hard you try. Now I don't know why you avoid talking to me about your problems but..." She trailed off and looked back out the window. The couple was gone.

"But you know why you won't talk to me." She felt him step closer to her. "Why Abby? Why won't you talk to me but you'll talk to Carter?"

"Because you weren't there that day Luka, he was. Once I knew I could talk to Carter I just kept going to him. As for you, I quickly came to the conclusion that you had a lot of your own problems to figure out. A lot of demons from your past to try and get over. I didn't want to bother you with my troubles too."

"But Abby that doesn't make sense. I mean you can talk to Carter regardless of the drug addiction he's trying to get over, but you can't come to me because I have problems. He has problems too Abby." The desperation in his voice hurt Abby because she didn't want to hurt him. But she was and she knew he'd only feel more pain with time. To make things worse he was now standing immediately beside her and she could feel the heat emanating from his body. The emotions started to rise again as she felt the urge to lean against him but had to resist. Once more she was on the verge of tears.

"But you mean more to me then Carter. And I didn't want to hurt you. I was being selfish with Carter and filling him with my problems. But I couldn't, I can't, do that to you." She turned around and faced him as tears silently fell down her cheeks. She made no attempt this time to stop them. "You seemed so hurt. Like you had this big secret you were trying desperately to keep from the world and yourself. I didn't want to make it worse. And since you wouldn't talk to me I did the only thing I could to help you. I didn't bother you with all my problems. With my messed up life."

He reached out a hand and gently wiped away some of her tears. "It's not messed up Abby. And I want to be a part of that life. I want to be the one you come to. I want to be the one to help you through your problems. I want to make you happy again. When the darkness comes I want to lead you to a light. I love you Abby." She closed her eyes tightly and ever so slowly wrapped her arms around him. She felt as he too embraced her. But it would be a short embrace.

"I can't." She whispered as she slowly pulled away from him. "We can't"

"Abby." The pain in his voice was mirrored by that in his eyes. And she knew that he was well aware of what was about to happen.

"It just won't work Luka. It hasn't been working and it won't work. We can't do this anymore. We can't pretend anymore. We can't pretend that everything is going to be okay, that everything's going to work out great in the end. When nothing good can possibly come out of this. We tried, we did our best, but we failed. And that happens. And when that happens you just got to say goodbye." His eyes closed against her words but Abby knew he'd never forget them. "But I will not once regret this. I'll always remember what we had. Maybe someday I'll even think of what we could have had, but just made to many mistakes to obtain. It just isn't supposed to be."

Abby began walking towards the door but Luka reached out and gently turned her back towards him. His kiss was deep and very passionate. In it she felt every emotion he'd ever tried, or hadn't had the chance, to tell to her. At that moment she knew for certain that Luka Kovac had, somehow, managed to fall in love with her. But her mind hadn't changed and when she finally managed to pull away from him she looked up into his desperate and pained eyes and whispered one word before turning and leaving.

"Goodbye."

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Fade to blue 

We didn't make it through 

Let the hurt unfold

And fade to blue

- Unknown, _Fade To Blue_

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   [1]: mailto:Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com



	3. Part III

TITLE

****TITLE: Fade To Blue - Part III

****AUTHOR: Abilene Keegan

****EMAIL: [Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com][1]

****RATING: PG

****SYNOPSIS: Abby views her new found relationship with Carter. Carter/Abby; Luka/Abby.

****DISCLAIMER: The following is a story of fiction based on characters created and owned

by Michael Crichton and NBC.

/ / / \ \ \ / / / \ \ \ / / / \ \ \ / / / \ \ \ / / / \ \ / / / \ \ \ / / /\ \ \ / / / \ \ \

**P A R T I I I**

Luka watched unnoticed from a short distance as Abby and Carter stood talking to each other outside the supply room. He wondered if they were setting up another date. Then he remembered the first time he and Abby had set up a date. Inside that very supply room. The memory was a pleasant one yet seemed to cause only pain. They'd been separated now for about four months and, for the last two of those months, it had become quickly evident to Luka that her and Carter were now dating. That hurt him even more then this break up would have already hurt him. To know that she'd so quickly gotten over him. That their relationship together had so hastily left her memory. That hurt more then anything else about this situation could have.

He watched and listened as Abby began laughing at something Carter had just said. He didn't know if this should upset him or not. A part of him was saddened but mostly he was just happy that she was laughing. She'd been so depressed for so long that to see her happy actually made a part of him happy. The other part of him was dying from missing her so much. He hadn't thought it was possible to hurt this much from a simple break up. He'd had his sure of break ups before but none had ever caused true pain. The only time he'd felt this way was when his family had died. Okay, perhaps then the pain had been significantly worse, but that was still the only time he could compare this with.

Luka's heart sank as he watched Carter lean down and give Abby a quick kiss on the lips before he walked past her and down the hall. Realizing that if he didn't leave himself Abby would probably see him, Luka made a quick dash for the closest door feeling somewhat like a stalker. He had to stop doing this. He had to stop torturing himself over her. She'd left him. She'd moved on. And she was happy. He had to learn to accept that. Somehow.

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Abby stood virtually motionless as Carter leaned down to kiss her. Even her lips made little movement and she wondered how it was he never seemed to notice this. Perhaps he was in that stage of wishful thinking. Hoping that she was enjoying every moment they spent together. He sure was. But no matter how hard Abby tried, and she did try, she just couldn't bring herself to enjoy his company. Or his kisses. She'd always tried to kiss him back though, always hoping he wouldn't notice her lake of emotion, and thus far he hadn't.

With every passing day Abby kept wishing she hadn't excepted his proposal to go out that night. But she had excepted it. Hoping she'd be able to get her mind off things. Namely Luka. She'd thought that she could talk to Carter like she'd always used to. But it hadn't turned out that way. Carter had been so happy that night, so excited. Abby didn't know how she could have been so stupid but the moment they'd arrived at the restaurant, they'd gone directly after work, she'd figured it out. This wasn't just one of those friendly dinners and chats her and Carter used to have. At least it wasn't supposed to be according to him. According to Carter they were on a date.

Abby had played along not wanting to hurt or humiliate him in any way. Somehow though things had gotten way out of hand. Two months had now passed. She just couldn't bring herself to leave him. She didn't want to hurt him and he seemed so happy. A part of her was hoping that eventually she'd be just as happy with him too. The other part, buried way down in some dark pit, knew she couldn't be. Her heart was somewhere else.

Abby sighed sadly wondering what was wrong with her. She had two great men in love with her. One of them she'd already lost and the other one she just couldn't bring herself to open up to. Which was odd cause she'd always opened up to Carter. She'd always talked to him about her problems. Maybe that was the problem right there. He was her boyfriend now and the main problems on her mind were ones that would only succeed in breaking his heart if she told him about them. They were two problems. One, him. Two, Luka.

A thought occurred to Abby and she had to laugh at it. When she'd been dating Luka she'd most always went to Carter with her problems. So maybe now that she was dating Carter, she should go to Luka. The sad truth was, if she did go to Luka to talk, he'd never turn her away. And she didn't deserve his help. She didn't deserve any kindness from him after the way she'd left him.

"Abby do you have that chart?" Abby looked over at Kerry bewildered.

"Chart?" She asked knowing she'd be reprimanded for this one. Sure enough Kerry gave her that _'what's wrong with these nurses'_ look before replying back in her not to subtle tone.

"Mr. Jensen, curtain three, foot lac." Abby thought for a moment before the memory of Mr. Jensen and his chart popped back into her mind.

"Oh, right, yeah. Um, I'll go get it."

"Since it was supposed to be at admit an hour ago, that'd be a good idea." With that Kerry stalked off towards the admit desk. Abby gave a deep sigh of relief. That could have been worse. Of course it was about to get worse. Since she couldn't remember where she'd left the chart.

Abby mentally ran the days events through her head starting with Mr. Jensen. She'd been with Dr. Weaver examining the patient. Once they were done they'd both left, Abby with the chart and the intentions of taking it up to admit. Only she'd been stopped by Chen who needed help with another patient. That's it! While her and Chen were finishing up Carter had stuck his head in and asked if he could speak with her. She'd left the chart in the exam room!

Abby walked about ten feet down that hall and opened up the now empty exam room. At least it should have been empty. But to Abby's surprised Luka was in it.

"Oh, hi." _Oh hi_, god was that the best she could come up with? Luka was seated on a stool in the room with his head in his hands, as soon as she'd entered though his head shot right up. She tried to pretend she hadn't noticed as she quickly walked over to where the chart was lying on a nearby med tray. Nearby to him that was.

"Hi Abby." His voice sounded different. No, Abby corrected herself, it sounded sad. Despite his obvious attempts not to sound that way, he still did. Abby reached the chart and snatched it up hurriedly. Eager to get out of there she quickly dashed for the door trailing her lame, yet true, excuse behind her.

"Um, have to get this chart back to Weaver before she has a hernia." Abby had reached the door when her more sensitive side took over. She couldn't just walk out of there like this. Not with him obviously being in hiding and upset. She turned around slowly.

"Are you okay Luka?" He looked up from where he was now gazing down at the floor and over at her surprised. She was a little hurt by that. Did he really think she didn't care about him anymore?

"Um, yeah, I'm fine." No he wasn't, Abby thought to herself. He hadn't been _fine_ for the past four months. "Then what are you doing in here?" She didn't want to sound accusing but she had to add. "Especially today, we are a little backed up."

"We're always backed up Abby." He gave her that sly smile she had always cherished.

"Yeah, but today we're especially backed up. I mean Weaver's out there seeing patients with cut legs." Luka only gave a short laugh before looking back down at the floor. Abby felt bad. She shouldn't be hassling him about not being around when the ER needed him. It wasn't really any of her business and besides they were doing just fine out there. She took a few steps closer to Luka.

"Look I don't want to argue with you about the states of the ER." She took another few steps till she was standing directly in front of him. "I just want to know that you're okay." She asked sweetly, her voice soft and filled with the sincerity she truly felt. When Luka looked up she had to swallow. The proximity between them was a little too close.

"Abby." His voice was soft, filled with emotion. And suddenly she realized that she was in a room, alone, standing far to close to her ex boyfriend that was still in love with her. She felt his hand as it gently landed on the back of her head bringing her face closer to his. She should have stopped him. But she couldn't.

Their lips met within second. And within a few more seconds she felt his tongue pleading to be let in. The emotions that were sweeping through Abby at that moment were just to many for her to handle. To many for her to explain. So she ignored them. Tossed them aside and just felt. She parted her lips slightly and his tongue ever so slowly entered and began its familiar exploration of her mouth. And he was suddenly kissing her in a way she knew Carter, or any other man for that matter, never could.

"Hey, Abby..." Abby jumped away from Luka immediately and looked over at the door, all the while trying to catch her breath. There stood Carter, shock and hurt evident on his face.

"John." Abby whispered but Carter had already left the room.

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Abby rushed through the emergency doors in quick pursuit of Carter. Both ignored the questioning glares of the ER staff and patients alike. No doubt, Abby thought, they were already typing things up on a computer to be published in next weeks gossip magazine.

"John please wait!" She caught up to him and quickly grabbed him by the arm trying to stop him. He stopped and swung around to face her.

"What the hell was that?" He hissed at her. Abby wondered if he was more angry or humiliated. She also wondered if he'd finally figured things out. It would be a relief if he had. Still, she found herself lying to him.

"That was nothing John. I swear." His look was that of a true skeptic. "Look he was in there when I went in to get a patient's chart and he looked depressed. I asked him what was wrong and he kissed me. It was nothing. Really. He was just feeling down." Perhaps she just didn't want to hurt him. Or maybe she was just afraid of being alone again.

"And you have no feelings for him?" Abby looked at him and wasn't sure what to say. Truth or lie? It always comes down to that, doesn't it?

"John-" He cut her off abruptly.

"Do you have feeling for him still Abby? Yes or no question." Abby closed her eyes and pushed back her emotions.

"No." She stated after opening her eyes again and looking directly into his. To her surprise a smile spread across Carters face and he reached out to her and began kissing her himself. Abby was sure she should have felt some degree of passion in his kiss but for the life of her she couldn't. She just felt numb. Her heart was breaking. How could things have gotten so out of hand? How could she have hurt the two men she cared about most so deeply? She hated herself for this. She hated herself for letting it continue. She should have ended it right here and now. But she was to weak. To scared.

"Carter, we need you in here!" They both jumped apart and looked over as Kerry shut the emergency doors behind her call. Carter looked at her questioningly. God, the love in his eyes was killing her.

"You should go." He nodded his head and stepped away from her.

"We'll talk about this later, okay?" Abby smiled.

"Okay." With that answer Carter darted for the emergency doors and reentered the ER. That's when Abby noticed Luka. He was watching her intently, disappointment in his eyes. Oh, god, he'd heard their conversation. Luka confirmed this by walking away with a sour look on his face.

Abby entered the ER as naturally as she could and walked to the nearest restroom. Going into one of the stalls she sank to the floor and began to cry.

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   [1]: mailto:Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com



	4. Part IV

New Page 1

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**Title: **Fade To Blue - Part IV

**Author:** Abilene Keegan

**Email: **[Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com][1]

**Rating:** PG

**Synopsis:** Abby has a surprise planned for Luka... but how will he react? Carter/Abby; Luka/Abby.

**Disclaimer:** The following is a story of fiction based on characters created and owned by Michael Crichton and NBC.

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**P a r t I V**

Abby glanced down at the vanilla folder that was in her hands. Leaning back against her locker she slowly opened the folder and smiled down at what was inside. She still couldn't believe she'd managed to obtain the item, which at first she hadn't even been certain existed. It certainly hadn't been easy to get. It had taken a lot of long distance phone calls, a lot of conniving, a few sob stories here and there, an understanding and sympathetic records employee and then finally she'd gotten what she wanted. All together it had taken the better part of a month to talk them into sending it and for it to arrive. Running her fingers lightly over the item Abby knew it had been worth all the time and effort.

It had only taken a week of Luka pretending she no longer existed for Abby to realize she had to do something. He was miserable and most of all he hated her. She didn't blame him. She had, after all, broken his heart once again. He wouldn't talk to her, he avoided working with her whenever possible, and if they'd pass in the halls he wouldn't even look at her. She was miserable. So she'd decided she had to come up with something. She finally figured out the best thing she could possibly do for him. She didn't know if it would cause him to acknowledge her existence again but it would, at least, make him happier. It would make him feel a little better. She hoped.

Abby turned around and opened her locker. She took out a small maroon box that was inside and gently placed the item from the folder into the box. She then sealed the package by placing a lid over it. Reaching into her locker she pulled out some green ribbon and wrapped it around the gift creatively before finally making a bow on the top of the lid. Smiling down at her work she gently placed the box back into her locker and then closed the door tightly. She was almost afraid that something might happen to it. The door to the room opened and Kerry walked in. She smiled over at Abby politely and Abby returned the gesture.

"Hi, Kerry. Everything still on for tonight?" She asked a little nervously. She didn't want anything to go wrong. This had to work out and it had to be perfect.

"Of course. And don't worry about it Abby, I've got everything covered." Abby smiled over at her boss once again before heading towards the door.

"Thanks Kerry!" She spoke on her way out.

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"Hey John." Abby greeted her boyfriend as she walked up to the admit desk. Her feelings for Carter where still somewhat hazy. Though she was becoming more and more certain with each passing day that they had no future together. She knew it wasn't fare to keep seeing him like this, still she couldn't bring herself to let him go. She was still afraid of hurting him. She was also afraid of admitting to him how much of a jerk she'd been in letting him believe all this time that they really had something going. She wondered if he'd ever forgive her if the time when she'd have to tell him all this did indeed come.

Things had been okay between them though. She'd been talking to him more again. Opening up, though not about Luka of course. The odd thing was that their relationship was pretty much still the same friendship they'd had before. That is if you neglected the fact that they now kissed once in a while. It had never gone beyond that though. In the three months they'd been dating they hadn't once slept together. That was solely due to Abby. And she knew John was becoming antsy in that area. She'd have to do something soon. Either break up with him or sleep with him. Just that last thought alone told her that this wasn't love.

"Hi Abby. Say you want to get some dinner tonight?" Abby smiled at this as she walked over to where Carter was standing.

"Well I get dinner every night John." Carter smiled back at her and leaned down to kiss her. Unintentional reflex had Abby stepping away from him. Where'd that come from, she wondered. By the look on his face, Carter was wondering the same thing. "Um, sure." Abby quickly tried to get his mind off of what had just occurred. "I'd love to have dinner with you tonight."

"Okay, great. We go after work then?" Good, it worked.

"Yeah." Abby nodded her head and smiled. Just then Luka walked up to admit.

"I need a nurse to assist in three." He obviously hadn't noticed them otherwise he would have grabbed a nurse instead of asking for any available nurse, leaving an opening for Abby. Which she gratefully took.

"I'll assist." Luka only glanced at her for a second before looking away.

"Chuni, you free?" Chuni looked at Abby curiously before nodding her head.

"Sure." Abby watched them walk away, all the while her heart filling with a familiar ache.

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Luka looked down at the patient's chart once again, trying in vain to concentrate on it. His mind was just on to many other things. Mostly Abby. It had been nearly six months now since they'd broken up. And one month since she'd decided to make him look the fool by kissing him back out of sympathy. Why had he kissed her? He still wasn't sure. Whether he'd thought something might come out of it or not remained a mystery to him. Maybe he had just needed to convince himself that she felt nothing for him. Maybe that's why he'd kissed her. Or maybe he'd needed to convince himself that he felt nothing for her. That sure hadn't been achieved. Kissing her had only made things worse for him. If he'd gotten over anything in the four months since they'd been apart it sure had come rushing right back.

He'd spoken to her all but six words since that incident. He believed those words were _'patient in one needs an IV'_. Pathetic. Especially for two people who had once been so close. Of course that was the problem. They really hadn't been that close. And when he'd attempted to do something about it, she'd broken up with him. He guessed that's the way love worked these days. You try and get the other to open up to you so that you can get closer to that person, and that person dumps you. Wasn't love sweet?

"Luka?" Luka looked up from his seat in the suture room and over at Kerry.

"Yes?" He asked not at all pleased to see her. Isn't that why people came into the suture room? To get away from other employs? Didn't Kerry know this?

"You have a patient in curtain two complaining of abdominal pains." Luka only shook his head and looked back down at his chart wishing Kerry would pay more attention to who was whose patient.

"No, my patient in curtain two had a sprained wrist, nothing else. I released her. Must be somebody else's patient in there now."

"No, she specifically asked for Dr. Kovac. Unless you know another..." Before she could get any further Luka was already standing up and retrieving his scattered charts.

"I'm coming already. But she's not my patient." Luka walked out of the suture room and followed Kerry down the hall. He was not happy. Why couldn't the world just leave him alone fore two measly...

"Happy birthday to you..." The song cut off Luka's train of thought as they neared admit. It only took him a few seconds to see the cake that two of the nurses were holding. A few seconds more and he realized they were singing to him. So Luka did the only thing he knew to do. He smiled at them all very politely and prayed this torture would end very soon.

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Luka had to admit that he was having a good time. He'd never really been involved in an ER party before let alone been the focus of one. It was proving to be a lot of fun. The staff was great as they kept teasing him trying to figure out how old he really was since nobody had told them. He wouldn't either. Not really because he didn't want to admit to his age more because it was fun to keep it a mystery from them. They seemed to be enjoying the game as well.

"Oh, come on Dr. Kovac." One of the nurses complained. "You tell us your age and we'll let you take home the left over birthday cake." Luka smiled down at her sweetly.

"That's okay. I'll just let you take it home instead." She smiled back at him and was about to say something more but Luka wasn't listening to her anymore. He was watching as Abby and Carter walked up to the desk that everybody was surrounding. Luka totally missed the scornful look the nurse gave Abby before marching off in another direction.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Carter asked Chen as he was sitting some charts down on the counter. Chen seemed uncertain but finally answered anyhow.

"Dr. Kovac's birthday. We're celebrating." Carter only nodded.

"Carter your patient in three is looking for you." Kerry walked up to the admit desk stepping in front of Luka who quickly turned his attention away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw as Abby and Carter exchanged words before Carter quickly dashed off in the direction of exam three. Abby walked away from the desk and out the emergency doors. She seemed sad, Luka thought.

"She set this up, you know?" Luka looked over at Kerry astounded.

"She what?" He asked a little unbelieving now that Kerry's words had sank in a little deeper.

"Abby, she set up this whole party. Who else would have known that today was your birthday Luka?" Truth was, Luka hadn't even remembered that today was his birthday until he'd seen the celebration. "She came to me about a week ago and we arranged for the party. I don't think she really wanted you to know that it was her but hey she didn't say I couldn't tell you either." Kerry smiled up at him and walked away. Luka suddenly had the distinct impression that she was trying to get them back together.

Excusing himself from the party Luka quickly made his way to the emergency doors and out into the ambulance bay. He saw Abby seated on a bench they both knew well. They'd spent much time on it together. Heck, it had been the spot of their first kiss together. He walked over and slyly sat beside her. She looked over at him astonished.

"Hey." Was all she said and Luka smiled. Which seemed to surprise her all the more.

"Kerry told me you set this up." Abby nodded and looked away.

"Figured you wouldn't be to happy about it. But maybe you'd have a good time." Luka watched as she looked over at an unknown point somewhere in front of her. He wanted her to look at him again. Slowly he reached out and brought his hand to her face. Gently he turned it till he could once again see her eyes and she his.

"I did have a good time Abby." He whispered. All the emotions of that day a month ago in the examining room were coming back. Luka quickly lowered his hand again and looked away himself. He couldn't let this happen again. He couldn't handle being hurt by her anymore. A few minutes pasted in silence before Luka threw caution to the wind.

"You have any plans tonight Abby?" He asked quickly before he could stop himself. He knew this was stupid. She didn't want anything to do with him. Not like that anyways. However the look she gave him warmed his heart. It was joy. Then her face fell once again and Luka noticed Carter standing in the emergency doors looking out at them. She didn't have to say anything. He already knew. "Of course. You two have a date?" He smiled, trying to sound unhurt.

"Luka." He didn't let her finish. He had to know. He had to ask.

"Does he make you happy Abby?" His gaze was on Carter, now talking to somebody just inside the emergency doors. Slowly he looked back at Abby and she nodded her head. "Good." He smiled. An actual genuine smile. "Cause I want you to be happy. And if he makes you happy then I wish you two all the luck in the world. I really do." Luka stood up tears brimming his eyes. But he refused to let them fall. He'd be happy for her and he'd let her know that. "Just don't invite me to the wedding, okay?" He started to walk away.

"Luka wait." He stood still about ten feet away from the bench and slowly turned around. She was standing in front of him. She wanted to say something. To tell him something. He knew her well enough to perceive that much from her right now. She didn't say anything though. At least not what she'd wanted to say. Luka wondered what it was she'd really been thinking.

"Here." She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small box. Handing it to him she smiled nervously. "Your birthday gift."

"Abby, you didn't-" She smiled again laughing slightly.

"I wanted to Luka." He just looked into her eyes for a moment. The look they shared seemed to be that of two lovers lost, but both ignored it.

"Thanks." He said and she quickly walked away. He watched sadly as her and Carter disappear into the hospital. Looking at the box Luka sat back down on the bench and proceeded to open it. Carefully pulling off the ribbon wrapped around it Luka opened the lid. The unshed tears immediately began to fall down his cheeks as he saw what was inside.

It was a photograph of a baby boy. But not just any baby boy. It was his baby. A child he'd long ago lost along with his wife and daughter. He'd thought there were no remaining photos of him. And until then had figured he'd never lay eyes on his son again.

"Marko." Luka whispered the word into the night as he gently removed the photograph from the box. Tears were still in his eyes as he stood up and began walking out of the ambulance bay. Memories of a once happy life following him.

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   [1]: mailto:Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com



	5. Part V

TITLE: Fade To Blue - Part V

**TITLE: **Fade To Blue - Part V

**AUTHOR:** Abilene Keegan

**EMAIL: **[Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com][1]

**RATING:** PG

**SYNOPSIS:** Abby follows her heart in Part V. Carter/Abby; Luka/Abby.

**SPOILERS: **Rampage.

**DISCLAIMER:** The following is a story of fiction based on characters created and owned by Michael Crichton and NBC.

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**P A R T V**

"Abby?" Abby blinked and looked over the table at Carter. Had he been talking to her? Of course he had but she realized she hadn't heard a word he'd been saying. Her mind had been somewhere else. With someone else. A man who was probably sitting alone in his hotel room wishing she was there. Just as she was wishing he were here.

Ever since she'd walked away from him a few hours ago she just couldn't stop thinking about him. Okay, she was fooling herself, she hadn't stopped thinking about him ever since she'd broken up with him five and a half months ago. She looked over at Carter and smiled.

"Sorry." Why was she here? She didn't want to be here. She thought back to why she and Luka had broken up. It seemed really stupid now. They could have worked things out. She could have learned to depend on him and he on her. She deeply believed that. He was in love with her, he'd do anything to make things work out between them. This morning she wouldn't have been so sure of that but she was now. Because he'd tried doing just that tonight. He'd asked if she'd had any plans. Why would he have wanted to make plans with her if he hadn't wanted to try and talk things over with her. Just a friendly dinner together would have been to painful. The only reason he'd torture himself like that is if he was going to try and get back together with her. He was still in love with her. Was she in love with him?

"You okay?" Carter asked and in his voice there was that friendly tone he'd always used with her. When they were just friends and nothing more. When things had been simple yet pleasant between them. Her eyes began to fill with tears. She wiped away the ones that fell as she watched Carter's face grow with concern. He reached a hand out over the table and sat it atop hers. She moved her hand away. "Abby what's wrong?" He asked gently yet evidently a little hurt. That didn't help her any.

"Why can't we just be friends John?" His face showed surprise. Then angst. Abby was a little surprised herself. But this had to stop. She did not love him and she even felt that he didn't really love her.

"So," John sad dryly sitting back in his chair. "This is the whole let's break up but still be friends speech." Abby was already shaking her head.

"No, John. We are friends. That's all we've ever really been. Why can't you see that?" It was hurting her deeply to do this to him. She could tell that while he was trying to be strong he was really hurting.

"Abby I care about you a lot." Abby smiled.

"And I care about you. But I'm not in love with you. I'm..." She stopped herself abruptly realizing what she was just about to say. And so Carter finished the sentence for her.

"In love with Luka." Abby thought about this for a moment and a wide smile slowly spread across her face. Her tears were forgotten. She was suddenly the happiest person in the world. She knew how she felt.

"Yes, I am. I do love him." With this new found joy Abby had become oblivious to Carter. That is until he stood up rather harshly slapping some money down on the table and started to turn away.

"Congratulations." He said dryly as he stormed towards the exit. Abby ran after him quickly. She caught up to him just outside the restaurant.

"John I'm sorry. That was inappropriate. I'm sorry." Carter swung around unexpectedly and was face to face with Abby. The anger in his eyes was fuming and Abby had to take a step back.

"Why keep me going for so long Abby? Why the hell didn't you put a stop to this a long time ago? You've never been into this relationship, that much is obvious. I thought that if I just gave you some time you'd be okay. Why shouldn't I think that! I mean it's not like you did anything to make me think otherwise!" Abby stepped back again, almost as if the blow of his words had had a physical impact.

"I'm sorry John." Yeah, she sure couldn't say that enough, she scolded herself. "That day when we had that conversation and you got mad at me because I'd started talking to you about Luka. You left me believing that unless I started taking our relationship to a further level you'd want nothing to do with me. When I broke up with Luka it hurt so badly. And you are my best friend. My only friend right now. I needed somebody to talk to and you were the only one I had. But I thought that unless I tried to let things grow between us I'd never be able to talk to you. So I let them grow. No matter how much that's not what I really wanted. I just want to be your friend and it seemed like you'd given me an ultimatum. Either I date you or I can't even talk to you. I needed somebody so I... I made a big mistake and I hurt you in the process and I am so sorry. You don't know how sorry I am. I don't want to lose you as a friend." By the time Abby was done explaining this all to John her eyes were filled with the unshed tears of emotions she'd kept bottled up for far to long. It actually felt good to her that she'd finally been able to release this all and tell John the truth.

John was just staring down at her dumbfounded. She had no idea how he was going to react. She'd just practically torn out his heart. Told him that she didn't love him, that she never would. She looked down at the ground not wanting to see his pained face anymore. Pain she had caused.

"Abby I'm going to need to take some time with this one." He spoke the words softly, gently. Abby looked back up at him and their eyes locked. "I really do think I was falling in love with you." Abby closed her eyes lightly, a few more tears trickling down her cheeks. "No chance for us, huh?" His voice had no hope in it and Abby knew he already knew the answer to that question.

"No John. I need to be with him. I need him." John nodded his head and then turned to leave. She watched him hesitate for a moment before he turned back to face her once again.

"It'll take some time and I'm not promising you anything Abby... but I'll think about that whole just being friends thing."

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Luka was sitting on his bed, back against the headboard, looking down at the pictures of his family. He'd thought that he would never feel love again after he'd lost them. How could he? How could he allow himself to move on and be happy when his family was dead because of him?

He'd some how managed to stay alive himself and moved to America, a foreign doctor looking for a job. Sure, he'd gotten a lot of jobs but that was the problem. He kept losing them. Not that he'd ever tried too hard to stay anywhere for very long. Truth was he liked the moving around all the time. He didn't have to worry about getting close to anybody that way. Finally he'd ended up in Chicago, he'd come to County. Here he'd managed to get a stable job. He'd liked it here. Liked the people and even the city wasn't half bad. Not when compared to some places he'd been. He was way over ever worrying about getting too close to anyone. He'd convinced himself that just couldn't happen. His heart was already gone. Then he'd met her.

It hadn't mattered at first. She was married and a med student and he'd had Carol. Well, he hadn't had Carol but he'd been interested in her. Then Carol had left. And Abby was no longer a med student. And, even better, she wasn't married. That's when he'd really gotten to know her. When they'd started talking more. That's when he'd eventually fallen in love again. Haven been in love before it hadn't taken him long to recognize it, but it had shocked the hell out of him. He wasn't supposed to be able to love anymore. And with these feeling suddenly came the feelings of betrayal. Betraying a family he'd long ago lost. Suddenly the tragedy was back and it was in his head again. All he could see was his daughter lying in his arms as he tried desperately to save her. He saw his wife as she was crying over the loss of their son. Then he saw her die. And then his daughter.

He began to push Abby away, yet not to far. He knew he loved her and so he still wanted her there with him. He just couldn't have her too close. But now he knew that somewhere along the way he'd pushed too hard. He'd lost her.

Luka looked up at the sudden knock on his door. He never got company, not since Abby had left, and since he wasn't the hotel doctor he had no idea who it could be. Deciding against his usual _'who is it'_ Luka put the two photos on the bedside table and walked over to the door. He bypassed the peep hole without even thinking. He'd never liked it. He couldn't see looking through it and not still opening the door to whoever was outside, so what was the point? If he had looked though he still wouldn't have been any less surprised to find Abby standing outside his hotel room.

Neither of them exchanged words. They just looked at each other. Luka didn't know what to say. _'What are you doing here?'_ Sounded too accusing to him. He didn't want to come off that way. Didn't want to say anything that might cause her to leave. He felt a piece of his heart slowly inch its way back into his body as his mind began thinking of a future with hope. A future with her. He was about to shake these notions out of his head. After all he had no idea why she was there. Then the answer came. Not in words but in a form far more powerful.

Luka's arms were suddenly filled with Abby and his lips covered by hers. As their kiss deepened Luka slowly stepped back into his room and pushed the door shut behind Abby never breaking contact with her. The pieces of his heart all rushed back into their rightful places. His very soul was filled with all the love he'd ever felt for her.

Luka wrapped one arm around her waist while pulling her tightly, yet gently, against his body. His free hand was left to softly caress the side of her face. As their tongues played combat Luka felt the temperature in the room drastically change. As if reading his mind Abby reached for the hem of his sweater and was about to pull it off when Luka's own mind took on a little more reasoning. Pulling away from her reluctantly, Luka gently grabbed her wrists and stopped her from going any further. She looked up at him confused and a little hurt. Luka smiled softly.

"Sweetie," He spoke between breaths as he was still trying to catch his. "Trust me, I want this as much as you do but we can't. We have to talk. I have to know why you're here." His reasoning worked as he watched Abby smile back.

"Sorry, I guess you're right." Luka took her hand and led her over to the bed. It really being the only place to sit. He sat on the edge and brought her down to sit beside him. She smiled at him meaningfully. "Sure this is the best place to talk?" Luka laughed, she was right but he didn't feel like leaving.

"What we have to talk about needs to be done in privet and I don't feel like waiting till we reach your place so..." Abby nodded with understanding. They sat in silence for a few minutes both of them unsure where to start.

"I left him." Abby finally stated. Then she smiled a little at her own words. "Well, obviously." Luka smiled too. He felt like the happiest man in the word. He knew though that there was still a long and bumpy road waiting for them. "Um, he inadvertently helped me to realize something though."

"What's that." Luka urged when she stopped talking. She looked over at him and into his eyes. For a moment she just sat there seemingly looking for something in the depth of those eyes.

"That I love you." Her words were a whisper as Luka leaned in to kiss her again, soft and gentle.

"I love you too."

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They'd spent two hours talking about everything. Telling each other that which should have come out a long time ago. Luka had told Abby about his family. About how the memory of them had resurfaced with a vengeance when he'd found himself in love with her her. He let her know why he had pushed her away. Abby told him about her own family, her mother, father, and brother. She told him about her marriage, about her drinking. When nothing was left to be said they found themselves in a comfortable silence. Both thinking about each others past and about their own futures.

They were lying on the bed. Abby's back to Luka's stomach as he held her closely. Not daring to let go. Both were deep in thought when suddenly Luka heard a soft sob coming from Abby. He looked down at her curiously but could only see the back of her head.

"Abby what's wrong?" He asked her softly.

"I am so sorry Luka." She said as she turned onto her back and looked up at Luka. Her face was streaked with tears and Luka felt his heart ache for her.

"Sorry about what?" He wiped away her tears only to watch more fall. Abby looked down at her hands, obviously not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"For treating you like I was despite with everything you were going through." Luka knew immediately what she was talking about.

"Abby you couldn't have known. I never told you about my family." Abby gave a sarcastic laugh at that.

"Yeah, because I never bothered to ask. I told you that you were the one who didn't want to hear about my problems when really," She looked back up at him. "It was quite the opposite." Luka thought carefully before responding to this.

"Abby, I think that we were just in too knew of a relationship. I mean it got pretty profound really quickly but it was still new. I think we both needed time to really get to know each other. To get to know each others emotions, how we respond to different emotions and situations, before we could get to the point in which we can open up to each other fully. I believe," He smiled down at her. "We've reached that point."

"I hope you're right." He watched her thoughtfully before thinking up a final course of action.

"Why don't we make a pact. If either of us need to talk about anything, any problems be it family, work, our past, then we will go to each other. And nobody else." He made sure to bring across that last sentence clearly. He was sure Carter was out of the picture now, as least for a while, but he still wanted to make sure she'd go to him instead of Carter for comfort when she needed it. Abby smiled up at him.

"I'd really like that." He looked in her eyes before leaning down to kiss her gently on the lips. He pulled back only a few seconds later. He wanted to ask her something before they got into all that.

"How'd you get the photo of my son?" Abby smiled again.

"Well it wasn't the easiest thing. Some hospitals take photos of babies when they are born in case anything happens. Say by some off chance the baby is kidnapped then they'll always have a record of what the baby looked like. So, since I knew where you were living in Croatia when Marko was born I went on the internet and found the largest hospital there and walla, that's where he was born. You got lucky, that hospital does take photos of infants after they are born. I talked one of the records office employees into sending me a copy of his photo." Luka smiled at her, his heart warming up to her even more, if that were possible.

"Thank you so much Abby. You don't know what that photo means to me."

"Yeah, I think I do." She looked him deep in the eyes and he was sure that she did indeed know. That she understood.

"I love you." He whispered the words gently against her lips as he continued their earlier kiss.

"I love you too." And from there the kiss deepened and so did their hearts. If that was possible.

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Almost all happy endings have a way of coming true

-Unknown, _Fade To Blue_

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**END NOTE: **Okay I don't really like to say 'the end' to anything. Especially not a series, cause you never know. But this is definitely the end for now. I may continue it sometime in the future. Maybe let you know how Abby and Carter will fix their friendship if they even do. But for now I'm just happy that I can start a different series. Look for it to be released soon. Thanks for reading!

**ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: **I'd like to thank everybody who reviewed this series!! Your responses were greater and much kinder then I'd expected. They were truly the reason I continued _Fade To Blue_ as far as I did. **_THANK YOU_** all so much!

   [1]: mailto:Abilene_Keegan@hotmail.com



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